When many think of Rocky Mount, it’s most often in connection with a show at the popular and relatively new Harvester Performance Center. But there’s a good bit more than that to the tiny seat of government for Franklin County.

If you want to date Rocky Mount’s resurgence to the opening of the Harvester Performance Center in 2014, you won’t get a lot of argument. Fact is, though, you’re missing the real Rocky Mount, the one that combines the past, present and future into a fascinating ball of the artistic, the commercial and tourism that raises eyebrows among the uninitiated.

The Harvester, of course, is the elephant in the room, featuring some of the truly interesting musical aggregations in the country, everything from Glenn Miller to Buddy Guy, Keb’ Mo’ to Blue Oyster Cult, Delbert McClinton to Doyle Lawson, Kenny G to the Little River Band, Ricky Skaggs to Gaelic Storm, B.J. Thomas to Rhonda Vincent, 150 shows a year, 460 seats at a time.

Last year, the Harvester saw $1.6 million “move through its doors,” according to Rocky Mount Town Manager James Irvin. Its shows drew from 50 fans to a number of full houses and netted $31,000 for the year. Rocky Mount “carries the books, the brick and mortar and we provide management,” for The Harvester, says Irvin. “Otherwise, it’s self-sustaining.”

It is also a business magnet. Dulcie Hankins opened Wood Grains, a hand-made furniture store, directly across the street from the Harvester in 2016 when she “couldn’t take any more” of working for the federal government. She combines the works of 36 local furniture makers with those of 100 Amish builders to stock her store and says, “The Harvester was absolutely a help” in her prosperous business.

“People come in before and after performances and even the artists visit us,” she says. The Harvester “has a tremendous impact. Most of us [downtown] have seen an increase of business. … Some [businesses] wouldn’t exist without The Harvester.”

Hankins bought the building from a couple of old friends “I’ve known since I was born” and sees that “a lot of people come for shows and visit while they’re here. It’s a good little hub.”

Matt Hankins, CEO of the Harvester and Rocky Mount’s assistant town manager and Dulcie’s husband, says, “Yes, the Harvester plays a vital and central role in the revitalization of downtown.

“When the Harvester opened, the town had over 10 vacant downtown storefronts. Most of those have been filled, and the new ones that have been created have typically been created because of other business opportunities elsewhere or significantly appreciated property values, helped in part by the tens of thousands of people the Harvester brings downtown every year.

“Would downtown be different if not for the Harvester? Definitely. I can’t say how, but I’m willing to bet that without this huge investment of public dollars, commitment and effort that – like most traditional downtowns in rural Virginia and rural America – we would struggle to attract businesses and shoppers downtown.”

Rocky Mount, which has expanded over the years to 6.9 square miles and was founded in 1786, has a downtown and an uptown, both thriving with local retail (like the old-fashioned Angle Hardware, across the street from the heavily-used Franklin County Library and a block away from Kylee Robinson’s Whole Bean Coffehouse). Rotenizer says the library “is not your daddy’s library. Its special programming and interactive programming are out of the box … You have to have relevance and the library does that.”

Whole Bean opened three years ago and has done well, but it appears to be hitting a peak: January 2019 was its highest grossing month ever and the first Friday in February set a single day record, Robinson says. “I think Rocky Mount was just ready for a coffee shop,” she says. “We have great lunch crowds because we aren’t fast food and we work hard at customer service.” Vegans—like Rocky Mount Assistant Town Manager Matt Hankins—can eat well at Whole Bean and so can just about anybody else.

“There are a lot of confines in operating a coffee shop in a small town,” says Robinson, “but we’re getting high school kids, parents and children” and the work-a-day crowd. She has discovered that it’s important “to know the town” and its interests and tastes when opening a business.